


Breathe New Air into My Lungs

by ThisQueenShallConquer



Series: Growing Together [1]
Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Baby-sitting, Established Relationship, F/M, Kaz is secretly good with kids, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Uncle Kaz, and it makes Inej all warm inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 04:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14992760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisQueenShallConquer/pseuds/ThisQueenShallConquer
Summary: Kaz Brekker is known for taking on the jobs that no one else will. But, Inej has to admit, this was not something she saw coming.-In which Jesper and Wylan have a night-off  and  Kaz gets stuck with baby-sitting duty.





	Breathe New Air into My Lungs

It had been eight years since Inej’s initial departure from Ketterdam. At twenty-six, Captain Ghafa had managed to make a rather terrifying name for herself, laying siege to hundreds of slave ships and liberating thousands of people. She was a myth, a legend, someone who was loved and feared enough to rival even the mighty Sturmhond. 

But freeing slaves and killing their captors was not easy work, and Inej liked to take some well-deserved time off when she could afford it. She had lost count of the number of scars she'd gathered or bones she'd broken since she first set sail aboard The Wraith. Even legends needed some time off to recover. And where better to relax than Ketterdam, the pleasure capital of the world?

She would not be gambling away her Kruge or entering any of the brothels on West Stave (regardless of how well they treated their workers) like so many tourists did. Instead, Inej intended to haul up in her bedchamber, take a scalding bath, and then, perhaps, steal the Bastard of The Barrel for the rest of the evening, Dregs' business be damned.

Inej was not as young as she'd once been, she had a lot more old battle wounds to worry about, but that didn’t stop her from scaling the rooftops of Ketterdam as easily as she had when she was seventeen. She was the Wraith, and no amount of time could dampen her skills. Gravity did not apply to her, it never had.

She avoided the hustle and bustle of East Stave as she made her way over to the Slat, rubber-soled feet making easy work of the sloping rooftops. She did not use the front door, why would she? Kaz always left his window open for her. 

It made him vulnerable to assassins, rival gangs and gutter thugs looking to make a name for themselves. But Inej had never managed to pick up his gift for cracking locks, besides, Kaz was more than capable of taking care of himself. Only a fool would believe themselves powerful enough to take out Dirtyhands in his own home, surrounded by his loyal crows.

Inej shimmied her way down the brickwork of the Slat, peering into various rooms as she went. She spied her old bedroom, now cluttered with Anika’s things, far messier than it had ever been under her care. Inej had no use for it anymore though, not even now, when she tended to stay at the Slat rather than at the Van Eck house.

Kaz’s office was on the ground floor these days, it still took some getting used to, and Inej had to stop herself from climbing in through Kaz’s bedroom window out of sheer habit. Their bedroom, technically, even if it saw very little use with her out at sea and Kaz dozing at his desk most nights.

No one noticed her slip down the facade of the building, she was still as silent as death. The window to the main office opened with ease, and Inej was ready to leap inside, maybe try, one last time, to sneak up on the impossible Kaz Brekker. But Inej faltered before she even got the chance, her feet seemingly stuck to the surface of the windowsill as she took in the sight before her.

Kaz was sat at his desk, that was no surprise, his pen scratching away at the books from the Crow Club, face as pale as ever, the longer strands atop of his head falling into his dark eyes as he worked. But his posture lacked its usual hunch, he was sat up awkwardly straight, looking highly uncomfortable as he totalled up the numbers in front of him. And it was obvious as to why. 

Marya Fahey- Van Eck was perched in his lap, one small hand yanking at his lapel, the other wedged inside her mouth. She mumbled what could only be his name in displeasure, the sound muffled by her fingers. Kaz sighed without much frustration and began bouncing the toddler on his good leg, continuing with his work as if this were perfectly normal.

Inej wondered if she were dreaming. Despite the sharp angle of his spine, Kaz looked at ease in this situation, barely flinching as Marya pulled her spit covered fingers out of her mouth and pressed them against his cheek, patting gently in a motion that was clumsy but most definitely affectionate. She clearly adored her uncle.

Jesper and Wylan’s adopted daughter didn’t have Jesper's dark skin or Wylan’s rust-coloured curls. She had golden eyes and thick streams of ink-black hair that indicated her Shu heritage. She was an orphan taken in by the merchling and his husband, and she was probably the most spoilt child in all of Kerch.

At the ripe old age of three, Marya had most of the Dregs wrapped around her chubby little finger. Both her fathers doted upon her, though their methods were rather different. Wylan was responsible and took fatherhood very seriously, raising his daughter with a stern but gentle approach, always making sure she had healthy meals and the best resources for a good start in life. Jesper on the other hand, bought her whatever her little heart desired. Toys? Sweets? All she had to do was bat those long eyelashes at him and Jes was putty in her hands.

She also had her aunt Nina bringing her clothes and toys back from Ravka, and Inej knew for a fact that Kaz was responsible for several of the stuffed animals in her collection. If Inej wasn't careful she'd be left behind in the dirt. She certainly needed to up her game.

Kaz gently pulled her spittle coated fingers away with a grimace, his eyes flicking upwards to meet hers. Inej couldn’t keep the grin off of her face. Of course, he’d known she was there, he always did. Inej's feet had barely touched the floor before Kaz scooped up the little girl with gloveless hands, holding her under the armpits out to Inej like a sack of potatoes.

“Take it” he grumbled, ignoring the child’s quivering lip. Inej briefly worried if Marya could remember her, she had only been gone for two months this time, but for children, that felt like years. Her worries turned out to be unfounded when the little girl's golden eyes brightened in recognition, reaching out for Inej, her small legs kicking wildly in mid-air.

"Nej!" she squealed loudly, and the Suli woman pulled her into her arms, pressing her close against her chest. It was amazing how much she'd grown in such a short amount of time, Inej might have gotten emotional if Marya hadn't chosen that exact moment to wind her fingers through Inej's braided hair, tugging hard enough to make her wince.

"Where have your dads gotten too, huh?" she asked the toddler kindly, in the sort of exaggerated tone people often reserved for small children. It seemed all those hours spent caring for her cousins' children during her last visit to Ravka had paid off.

“Having a few drinks with the others” Kaz huffed, running a hand through his hair, seemingly relieved at the opportunity to resume his paperwork without sticky hands prodding and pocking at him.

“And they left you on babysitting duty?” Inej asked, raising an eyebrow. He could play cold and calculated all he liked, but Inej had seen how gentle with was with the little girl. Not to mention the ever so slight tinge of pink she could see on the tips of Kaz’s ears. He’d been caught acting like a normal human being for a moment there, and Inej could have sworn that before she slid open the window, Kaz had been smiling.

“I have a way with dogs, kids aren’t that much different” he shrugged. Inej usually received a much warmer welcome than this, but she supposed that wasn’t a sight suitable for such young eyes.

"You're good with her" Inej smiled, Kaz merely grunting in response. Clearly, this was a topic he wanted to avoid.

Inej began moving around the office, bouncing Marya on her hip as she started to fuss. The toddler could walk, but there were far too many nefarious objects in Kaz's office for Inej to feel good setting her down.

“Stop looking at me like that” Kaz sighed, eyes darting up from the figures he was meant to be adding up.

“Like what?” Inej played innocent, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking.

“Like I’m soft.”

“I’d never dream of it.”

Perhaps it's because she was an only child, but Inej had always liked children. In her line of work, it was a necessity. It could be several weeks before they could deliver their next batch of rescued slaves to the nearest embassy. Most of them were between the ages of five and fifteen, all terrified and in need of constant care and reassurance. Inej had fired many crew members already who lacked that tact needed to excel at that aspect of the job.

But none of that meant she had ever considered having children of her own. Before the slavers came for her, Inej had been too young to put much thought into such ideas, her mind too focused on the high-wire to concern herself with boys or domestic dreams of the future.

At the Menagerie, the idea of getting pregnant was a constant fear, they all knew that nothing good to come from carrying a clients' child, not under Heleen's watch. They'd downed tonics, brewed by Medik's or the occasional Grisha ( if they were lucky) each fearful that the next batch would be faulty and they would be forced to bear the brunt of Tante Heleen's rage.

Children had never really factored into Inej's plans, but looking at Marya, feeling the warmth of her pudgy cheek pressed against her own, smelling the sweet scent of her hair, made something melt inside her chest.

“Don’t get any ideas.” Kaz's raspy voice cut through her thoughts like a blade.

“What do you mean?” Inej frowned, he’d always been too good at reading her. Families were an unnecessary liability for Barrel bosses, one that she doubted Kaz would ever indulge in.

Kaz sighed, letting his pen drop against the desk as he leaned back in his chair, fixing her with an unreadable look. "Kids," he inclined his head towards Marya, "they're a lot of work."

"I never said I wanted one."

"But you were considering it." 

He was right of course, for the briefest second she had wondered what it would be like. Had wondered who their child would take after, which one of them it would look like. Would they have Kaz's nose? Her chin? It had been a reckless thought, but not one she could bring herself to regret.

Kaz cleared his throat, shifting his gaze back to his ledger. “Give it a few more years and maybe we’ll think about it."

Inej's mouth opened and then closed again. Did that mean he wanted children with her somewhere down the line? 

“Glad to see that you're including me in these important decisions," she huffed without any real irritation, adjusting Marya's position on her hip.

“Are you ready to give up on your life of piracy?” he regarded her with an arched brow.

“No” Inej admitted, the answer easy.

“And I’m not ready to leave all this behind yet," he gestured to the walls of his office, but Inej knew he meant the Barrel. They both had things they wanted to achieve first - she had slavers to destroy, he had a city to dominate.

“Besides,” Kaz cleared his throat again, looking almost sheepish as he hunched back over to continue his accounting “We’re not even married yet."

Her eyebrows nearly entered her hairline. "Marriage?"

“Yes, if your parents are fine with it.”

“I don’t know about that” she taunts, a smirk tugging at her lips. “I think they’re still hoping I’ll marry a nice Suli boy and make plenty of little acrobats.”

 _"We_ could make acrobats."

 _"You_ don't have the right build, your shoulders are too broad" this would be the only time she'd ever complain about his shoulders. They may be a hazard in terms of wind-resistance on the swings, but that didn't make them any less aesthetically pleasing.

"Then I guess I'll just have to charm them," Kaz said with a shrug, "I'm rather good at that when I want to be".

Inej grinned. Oh, she knew.

-

It was another hour before Jesper, jovial from the alcohol but still sober enough to function, came knocking at Kaz's office door. Not even he was reckless to come waltzing into Kaz Brekker's office uninvited. By that time, Marya was dozing against Inej's shoulder, her fingers still woven through her braid.

Kaz rose silently from his desk, gesturing for Marya. He untangled her chubby fingers from Inej's hair with a gentle hand, tucking the small girl's head under his chin as he cradled her sleeping form in his arms.

Kaz inclined his head towards the hinges of the door and Inej nodded. They did not need to talk to understand one another.

She felt a little guilty, hiding behind the door from Jesper, especially when he asked if she had docked yet, but she'd make it up to him and Wylan tomorrow, by paying them a proper visit. She just hoped that Marya did not grass on her until then. 

Jesper would always be one of her dearest friends, but she'd rather spend her first evening back in Ketterdam here in the Slat, with Kaz, rather than in the sitting room of the Van Eck mansion, watching him and Wylan share besotted glances.

The door had barely clicked shut before Kaz had her pressed up against the wooden surface, it seemed he had been just as eager for them to be alone as she had. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, humming approvingly as his mouth slid over hers. This was what she'd spent the last two months longing for, his kiss made her breath catch and her knees quake.

"Is this any way to treat your fiancé?" Inej smirked, her nose brushing against his as she finally pulled back for air.

"Fiancé? Is that what you are now" Kaz asked with a raised brow, the rasp of his voice warm with amusement.

"Well, you practically asked, didn't you?"

"That depends. Are you saying yes?" He pulled back to meet her eyes, a rare genuine smile tugging at his lips.

Inej didn't answer, she merely hummed thoughtfully, her fingers toying with the blunt hair at the nape of his neck. "Inej Brekker, I'm not sure how that sounds..."

"Inej _Rietveld_ " Kaz corrected in a way that made her heart stutter. She thought about the tattoo on his bicep, of his brother and the farm where they had grown up. It meant more than she could ever put into words, that he was willing to share that part of his past with her.

"Or you could just keep your own name," he quickly amended, fearing her stunned silence.

"Rietveld," she tried the name of her tongue, "I think I like the sound of that" she smiled gently, her battle-worn fingers brushing over the high slope of his cheekbone. She felt the relieved flutter of his breath as he leaned in for another kiss, this one far more chaste than the one before it. Inej could feel the curve of his smile against her own, her pulse skittering wildly beneath her skin.

Saints, how she loved him. 

They may never have children, either by choice or an inability to conceive, but Inej would be content as long as he was by her side, forever. He had come to her, without gloves, without armour, his heart on his sleeve, and she would have him, _gladly._

Inej reached behind her, locking the door with a flick of her fingers, her legs coming up to wrap around his waist as his hands grasped at her hips. She would rather not be disturbed right now. The Barrel could do without Dirtyhands for a few hours, she wasn't through with him yet.

**Author's Note:**

> This was just meant to be a fic about Kaz being a good Uncle?.....But they ended up engaged??? Oops!
> 
> [My tumblr](http://thisqueenshallconquer.tumblr.com/)


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